Madonna Is Billboard’s Woman of the Year 2016

All hail the Queen!

Every generation, an artist maintains their super stardom by continually reinventing themselves. Madonna, who's shined in the spotlight for over three decades, has never shied away from, um, expressing herself.
To honor her incredible musical and philanthropic achievements, Madonna will receive Billboard's 2016 Woman of the Year award at the 11th annual Billboard Women In Music event in New York City on Dec. 9, which will air Dec. 12 on Lifetime.
The Queen of Pop is opening up to Billboard about the accomplishment, touching on an array of insightful facets of her life, including the President-elect Donald Trump, ageism and being a control freak.
See some of those highlights below, as well as contributions from Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Diplo and Tove Lo.
On the election results:
"It felt like someone died. It felt like a ­combination of the heartbreak and betrayal you feel when someone you love more than anything leaves you, and also a death. I feel that way every morning; I wake up and say, “Oh, wait, Donald Trump is still the president,” and it wasn’t a bad dream that I had. It feels like women betrayed us. The percentage of women who voted for Trump was insanely high."
On why women voted for Trump:
"Women hate women...."
What her friends who voted for Trump give as their reason:
That they would rather have a successful businessman running the country than a woman who lies. Just absurd.... In a way, it makes sense that Donald Trump is the president. Because money rules. Not intelligence, not experience, not a moral compass, not the ability to make wise ­decisions, not the ability to think of the future of the human race.
On being an agent for change:
I’m trying to figure out my response to Trump...I want to rain on his parade.
On ageism:
"Age is only brought up with regard to women. It’s connected to sexism, chauvinism and misogyny. When Leonardo is 60 years old, no one is going to talk about his relevance. Am I relevant as a female in this society that hates women? Well, to people who are educated and are not chauvinists or ­misogynists, yes."
On being a control freak:
"I don’t want to have an event that I’m not proud of. It’s like everything that I do. My shows, my films, my house, the way I raise my children. I take great offense when details are overlooked."

Britney Spears:
“Madonna has always been an inspiration to me. She’s a strong woman who knows what she wants and doesn’t compromise her vision. And she’s not afraid to reinvent herself -- with every album she experiments more and pushes the envelope. That takes a lot of courage, which motivates us all.”
Nicki Minaj:
“When I think of greatness and what a legend is, I always think of Madonna. She has always been true to herself as an artist. She does things her way no matter what, and that always inspires me. Because she never backs down from her beliefs and takes risks, she has made history. Working with her was one of the proudest moments of my career. She’s the ultimate boss.”
Tove Lo:
“Madonna paved the way for girls in pop to express themselves sexually, without apologizing. I really admire what she has created!”
Diplo:
“Madonna is such a singular artist. She created the modern pop star and has pushed boundaries for music for 30 years. She’s legendary, and yet she still brings this incredible young energy.”
Read the full interview here.